Monday, December 26, 2011

Time for Some Christmas Baking

Christmas has now come and gone, and
while the days leading up to Christmas were busy, the past few days have been
wonderfully relaxing. Our Christmas celebrations began on Friday night when we,
along with some friends, were treated to a wonderful dinner at our favourite
neighbourhood pub. It was a great way to get in the festive mood. On Saturday
we finished up our Christmas shopping, stocked the fridge and then settled in
at home, hosting some family and friends. We wound down Christmas Eve by
watching one of my favourite movies – Christmas Vacation. On Christmas day we
had a relaxing morning (although I was amazed that the teenager was able to get
up as early as he did), followed by a yummy turkey dinner and a trip to the
movies. We saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. While very intense in places,
it was a very good movie.

In honour of Boxing Day we had lunch
at our favourite neighbourhood pub (the Rose and Crown, for those who are
wondering) and then it was time to shop. The boys returned home to do their
shopping online and I wandered the streets to see what stores would capture my
interest. I stocked up on wrapping paper for next year, bought some dog treats
and a new bath mat. While none of my purchases were very exciting I was pleased
with the bargains I hunted. And then… I made one last stop into The Body Shop,
where all my will power went out the window and I bought enough bath oil, body
scrub and lotion to keep me smelling good for all of 2012.

Finally, at 8 pm on Boxing Day, I
found time to do some Christmas baking. You may recall back on October 14 I
mentioned that at the beginning of 2011 I told myself that I wouldn’t make Christmas
gifts this year, in an attempt to avoid the usual pre-Christmas crafting
frenzy. As you know, I didn’t live up to that plan. The secret sewing project
(which I will blog about on another day) was a big pile of pressure, the secret
knitting project (socks for a friend) didn’t quite get finished, and the wreath
making became all-consuming of my spare time (and blog posts). So the days
leading up to Christmas were filled with too much to do, and Christmas baking
didn’t make it anywhere near the top of the list.

Since I love Christmas baking, I don’t
care that Christmas is past (and all my decorations have come down); I’m going
to get on with my Christmas baking anyway. I just made these…

They are Black Bottom Cheesecakes. I
found the recipe on one of my favourite blog sites – Mennonite Girls Can Cook.
As a girl who was raised Mennonite, I feel I live up to the blog title and I
can cook (I don’t always want to, but I can!). While Mennonites may be capable
of cooking, most absolutely excel at baking. I check this blog site regularly
and am always captivated by the cookies, cakes and other desserts.

In other news, Cici did very well
this Christmas and has many new toys to play with and sleep with.

A little about me...

I'm an avid knitter and professionally trained designer, based in Toronto, Canada. I draw on a wide variety of influences for inspiration in the design of colourwork mittens. At any given time, I'd rather be knitting. Find me on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/JanetWelshKnits, or on Ravelry at https://www.ravelry.com/designers/janet-welsh-knits.

A little about this blog...

This blog is a past project designed to showcase some of the things I was making, while learning the art of blogging. While no longer an active blog, I have left it up in case people want to explore some of my past thoughts and projects.